Whichever Way the Wind Blows
by LysCat
Summary: "You look like shit." "Language." "I'm sorry, you look tired." He sighed. Steve and Daisy meet up while they are each out on their own. In this story, the Avengers are aware of Coulson being alive and have already met his team.


Title: Whichever Way the Wind Blows  
Author: Alysia  
Category: Crossover between AOS and Avengers  
Summary: "You look like shit." "Language." "I'm sorry, you look tired." He sighed. Steve and Daisy meet up while they are out doing their own 'vigilante' thing. In this story, the Avengers are aware of Coulson and have met his team.  
Disclaimer: I don't own any characters familiar to Marvel. This is set after Captain America: Civil War and after season 3 of AOS. Oh, and in here I sort of paraphrased the monologue that was on the trailer, that isn't mine either.  
Author's note: In this, Daisy calls Steve 'Nomad-man,' which is a nod to the speculation that Steve could be heading in the direction of becoming Nomad.

"Okay, so we can do this the easy way or the hard way," Daisy Johnson said as she stared at the man clad in black.

"You really think I'm scared of you?" He scoffed.

Her eyes fell on the downed body. "You could ask your friend," she retorted. "Oh, wait, he's knocked out." When they'd first approached her, it was five against one, now it was only the one guy left.

He lifted his gun and pointed it at her. "I'm better prepared than he was."

When he fired the gun, she was ready. Throwing up her hands, she stopped the trajectory of the bullet when it was inches from her chest. "That wasn't very nice." She grabbed the bullet and tossed it to the ground.

"No," a new voice broke in. "It wasn't."

When her opponent was distracted, she used her powers to break apart the weapon in his hand. "You freak!" He screamed, looking at her. "The world would be a better place if you and your kind were dead."

"Wow, I think that's a little dramatic, don't you?" She asked, turning to the newest addition.

"A little bit," he acknowledged. Without another word, he punched the Watchdog. Both he and Daisy watched as he slipped into unconsciousness along with his friend.

Without even blinking, she turned to look at the unexpected man. "I could have handled myself," it was more of a mumble, but she made sure he heard it all the same.

He held his hands up as if to placate her. "I didn't say you couldn't."

"Jack-offs," she muttered before stepping over the downed bodies. "What are you doing here?"

He smirked at her and shrugged his shoulders. "I was in the neighborhood. What are you doing here, so far from the Playground?"

She pursed her lips, looking him over. "I was in the neighborhood," she parroted. "Jesus, Steve, you look like shit."

"Language."

She arched an eyebrow over his reminder. She'd heard the story, the way he'd done the same thing while on a mission with the Avengers and the flack he'd received for it. Her mouth began twitching, but other than that, she remained impassive. "I'm sorry, you look tired."

Steve Rogers exhaled a deep sigh and met her gaze. When she nodded her head as if further emphasizing her observation he snorted in amusement. "Yeah. It's been a rough couple of months," he admitted.

"So, I see." Rolling her neck in an attempt to crack it, Daisy nibbled on her bottom lip. "I have a motel room a few blocks from here, you're more than welcome to join me. It isn't fancy, but it works well enough." She watched him hesitate. "It has a second bed. I promise, Cap, your virtue is safe with me."

If he was in a better mood, he probably would have blushed over the implications of her words. Instead, he focused on the name she'd called him. "I'm not Captain America anymore."

"Okay, Nomad man, whatever you want to be called," she said, walking past him. When he made no move to follow her, she turned around to face him. "You coming or what?"

* * *

Closing the door behind them, Daisy made her way towards the small refrigerator and pulled out two beers. She tossed one to her companion before opening her own.

Steve caught the can and stared down at it. "You know that-"

She rolled her eyes at him. "I know, super serum, blah, blah, blah. We're going to have what I assume is a long conversation and I want a couple drinks."

"And I have to drink, why?"

"Because it'd be rude to make me drink alone." Sitting on opposite beds, they faced one another. "Tell me, Steve. When was the last time you just did something?" When he frowned, she continued on. "Yes, the serum makes it impossible for you to get a buzz, so does that mean you haven't had a beer for the hell of it?"

That was exactly what that meant, but instead of saying anything he opened the beer and took a swig off of it. "Happy now?"

"It's a start," she acknowledged. "Why are you here instead of New York?"

"Because I want to be."

When he made no move to flush out his sentence, she pursed her lips. Taking a long drink from the can in her hand, she set about examining him. His hair was shaggy, something she would have never associated with the man before her. Steve, as long as she'd known him, had always been neat and clean cut. It wasn't a bad trait, it simply was. And the facial hair was…she had to admit she found it kind of sexy, not that she'd ever repeat those words to him. But he looked haggard. "No, you don't," she spoke finally. "You don't want to be here anymore than I do. You're here because you were driven away like me."

He opened his mouth to argue against her assumption, but no words followed the action. Instead, he took a gulp of his beer.

From the moment he met Daisy, he'd been slightly envious by her ability to call things like she saw them. She didn't fret over sparing someone's feelings or try to sugar coat things. He respected that about her, despite his current discomfort brought on by her words.

"I'll tell you my sob story if you tell me yours, and then we can drink over it and bond," she said in a somewhat cheerful tone.

He had to admit that her offer was tempting. It had been so long since he'd been around someone that he could truly talk to. He knew that he always had Sam, but Sam Wilson was his guy. Yes, he'd helped the Avengers in the past, but he was firmly in Team Steve's camp. He couldn't offer the same perspective that someone from the outside could. He'd tried to talk with Sharon Carter, but she didn't truly understand things. She tried, but there was always a bit of disconnect there. Perhaps Daisy could offer him something different because while she and her team were on friendly terms with the Avengers, they had no loyalties among them?

"Maybe it would be easier if I asked you what you knew?"

"A whole lot of nothing," she admitted. "Things have been…well, I haven't had a chance to catch up on my celebrity gossip."

Steve went into detail about the Accords and his differing view from Tony Stark. He spoke of finding Bucky after all those years and trying to help him while fighting off the Black Panther and proving Bucky's innocence to him. He spoke of the moment Bucky came back to himself and then his memories of the things he'd done as the Winter Soldier. He mentioned the sides that had been drawn and how each member of the Avengers' team fell. And then he shared Tony's discovery that the Winter Soldier had been behind Howard Stark's death as well as his attempt to kill Bucky because of it.

"I couldn't…" he sighed. "Bucky has been through enough because of what Hydra did to him. It wasn't his fault." It could have easily been him that fell off that train and fell into Hydra's hands.

"No," she allowed. "It wasn't his fault, but I can understand Tony's motivation." When it looked like he was ready to explode, she held a hand up to keep him silent. "I didn't say it was right or that I agree with him," she clarified. "I think logically, he understands that it wasn't Bucky's choice, but he doesn't have anyone else to blame. You know how Tony can be, he lets his emotions get the better of him sometimes."

"Sometimes?"

"Okay, a lot of the time," Daisy allowed. She forced him to meet her gaze. "I know you don't need the validation, but I think you did the right thing by Bucky."

He knew he didn't need the validation, but he appreciated it all the same. "When he comes back, you'll have to find the time to meet him."

She gave him a soft smile. "I'd like that." Her smile dimmed and she pushed her hair behind her ears. "Steve, it might take some time before he's really ready to be introduced back to the world," she cautioned him. Bucky may return to New York and to Steve, but that didn't mean he would be open to expanding his world too much. "The things that Hydra did to him, the memory is never going to truly go away. He's going to need your support, as much support as he can get. He's going to have a difficult time adjusting to life in this time and dealing with the things he did as the Winter Soldier."

"T'Challa, the Black Panther, helped us once he realized that Bucky was innocent in his father's death. Bucky is in Wakanda with him. They're trying to deprogram him." He went on to explain vibranium and the fact that the country built around it and it's thriving metropolis that they've kept hidden from the world. "I don't get to talk to Bucky very often, but T'Challa has kept me informed about his progress."

"And the Avengers?"

He shook his head. "There are no Avengers." Everyone had made their choice, team Cap or team Iron Man. "How do you go back to a team that turned against each other?" Fought against each other?

"Whether you go by Captain America or whatever moniker you go by these days, you are still an Avenger," she told him wisely. "You walked away from your life and you're still stepping in to help people. It's just who you are, like the rest of the team. You guys are the Avengers. A remarkable group of people put together to do the things that no one else could do."

He nearly snorted at the words. "Yeah, I've heard the pitch once or twice."

"Steve, If the situation were dire enough, you'd come together, fight alongside each other."

He couldn't find the faith to believe in her words. Reunite? No, too much had happened. Unless the world was ending, he didn't think it would ever happen. "So, I left. I've been wandering ever since. Keeping an eye out for anything for anything that catches the attention of the media and helping out when I can."

"That include the Watchdogs?"

"When needed," he allowed.

She licked her lips. "Two peas in a pod," Daisy shook her head. They were in similar positions in their life. She couldn't completely walk away either.

Deciding that he was finished talking for the time being, her changed the conversation. "The last we met, your friend had been taken by that liquid rock thing. You guys get her back?"

"The Monolith," she clarified. "Yeah, we did, eventually. After the team met you guys for the first time I was given my first chance to lead a unit. I would find the Inhumans and try to help them." She'd answer their questions, explain their history and try to help them find a 'normal' life with new powers. "I was so new to it myself though, and I didn't have a chance to learn the way the others at Afterlife did. Lincoln Campbell helped me quite a bit."

Steve recalled the Inhuman. He'd only met him once, but he remembered the way that Lincoln looked to Daisy. "He was sweet on you, wasn't he?"

She smiled as she thought of him. "He was. We…it wasn't easy, but we had our moments." Of course, during that time, Lincoln had been out on his own before joining up with SHIELD and there'd been Hive. "Coulson wanted a group of Inhumans, the Secret Warriors, that could help deal with any threats we found ourselves up against. We were able to get Jemma back. During that, we came across an Inhuman, we called him Lash, that targeted and killed other Inhumans. We found out that Lash was actually a friend of ours, a consultant and May's ex-husband. He wasn't killing all Inhumans, just the ones he felt were 'unworthy."

"How did you not know it was him?"

"People emerge from Terrigenisis differently. Take me for example, my powers didn't change me physically. For Andrew, it was physical transformation. When he changed, Lash took over all consciousness. Lincoln warned us that Lash was close to taking over for good so we put him in stasis so we could try and figure something out." She explained Ward's appearance in the thick of things and his death and how his body had been taken over. She explained the alien that inhabited his body and the power he possessed. "He used his power on me."

Steve winced. "What happened?" When she'd spoken of Bucky, warning him what to expect, he'd wondered how she knew all of that. After hearing she'd been put under someone else's control, he understood.

"I murdered someone and tried to frame Lincoln for it." She'd killed before, in her line of work, sometimes it was necessary. However, it was always to defend herself. Malik, though far from innocent hadn't raised a hand against her when she'd killed him. "He wasn't a good guy, being Hydra and all, but I killed him without any hesitation."

"Daisy…"

"It gets better," she said caustically. "I caused an earthquake that almost destroyed the base…with everyone inside, as a warning. Hive wanted to create more Inhumans and when the team stopped him, I tried to kill Mack, my partner." He hadn't held it against her, but the memory was always there in the back of her head. "Hive's ultimate goal was to create more Inhumans, but the experiment was failing. It called for Kree blood and because I'd been infused with Kree blood, I offered my own. I would have gladly ended my life if it meant Hive reached his goal."

He ground his teeth together as he listened to her story. He couldn't believe that she'd been through so much in the months that her mind had been hijacked. It made him wonder what sort of things to expect from Bucky. "Did his plan end up working?"

"Sort of. Humans were changed, though they were…primitive, but they were under Hive's control. He wanted his plan to go global, infect every human. He wanted to set off warhead that could infect a lot of people all at once. Lash managed to break the thrall I was under and I returned to the team but I was…going through withdrawal symptoms from the sway being cut. I was in so much pain because of it. Being under his control, it felt safe and loving and it was like I belonged there…and when it was broken…" Her voice cracked as she recounted her tale. She'd never really explained all of that to her friends, worried that they wouldn't understand and would judge her for it.

From his position across from her, Steve paused. He wasn't very comfortable dealing with emotional women. What was the best way to deal with her? If he moved next to her and hugged her, would it even be appreciated? Instead, he remained in his spot and offered her silent support.

Ignorant to his thoughts, she continued. "And then…I confronted Hive, asked him to restore the bond." That was another thing she hadn't told anyone, but somehow Lincoln knew, he'd known and didn't blame her for it. "I was weak. I should have fought harder."

"It doesn't make you weak, Daisy. It makes you human, people make mistakes."

She took a deep breath. "He couldn't re-establish it. When Lash broke the bond, he made it so I would be impervious to mind control." She explained Coulson's plan to send the warhead to space so that when it detonated it wouldn't hurt anyone. "I was in the quinjet. I had Hive there ready to make sure that when his plan died, he would too. I was ready to fly it to space, but Lincoln used his powers to get me out of the jet and he took off before I could stop it and he died. He died and I didn't." She mentioned the fact that she'd been on her own for four months, unable to stay with SHIELD.

"Why? Were you ready to die?"

She shook her head. "Not to die, to…atone for the things I did when I was under Hive's control," she corrected. "The things I did to the team, and…it was my blood that made Hive's plan possible. It only made sense that I should die for it, not someone else."

"This is why you spoke of Bucky the way you did. You know exactly how it feels to do things under someone else's control."

"And to be powerless to stop it," she added. "It really…"

"Sucks?" Steve supplied.

Her mouth quirked up in a humorless smile. "Yeah, that."

He hesitated. "Did your team not understand."

"No, they understood. They forgave me for everything that I did, but I don't think that I deserved it."

She didn't deserve it?! "You returned to the team, you helped them put the plan together. If you hadn't gone back to them who knows what would have happened to the world? You're no more responsible for those things than Bucky is for the things Hydra made him do."

"That's what my head tells me," it was her heart that didn't believe it.

"Do you ever miss it? Them?"

Every day. She missed them every day. "All the time, but it's safer for them if I'm not around." She'd brought so much trouble to the team, they didn't need that, Coulson didn't need it. Especially when he was trying to get SHIELD up and running and reminiscent to some form that it used to be. "You miss your guys?"

Not Tony, but Thor and Bruce had both been out of communication for quite a while and he was beginning to grow concerned. "Some," he allowed. "Sam is always there if I need him and Nat drops in every once in a while. I talked with both Wanda and Vision, but it isn't the same." He found the solitary life bearable and sometimes relished in it.

The pair slipped into silence, each lost in their own thoughts.

"It's gotten entirely too grim in here," Daisy announced after a couple minutes of quiet. "I propose that we put the television on and not talk about anything heavy for the rest of the night."

He wasn't going to argue with that. "Works for me."

* * *

Hours had passed. Daisy had turned on the television settling on a movie that he'd never seen, not that it was uncommon, and that she loved. Almost an hour later, she'd passed out. Steve, on his bed, finished the rest of the movie before turning everything off. He laid in bed, waiting for sleep to claim him, but his mind was too active to rest. He was replaying their conversation in his head and he was making himself crazy. He heard Daisy shift in the next bed several times and he wondered if she was subconsciously feeling restless as well.

He felt the bed shake, it was subtle at first, but then it grew in intensity. And it took him a beat to realize that Daisy was causing it. Jumping out of bed, he knelt in front of her and attempted to wake her. "Daisy." He placed a hand on her bare shoulder. "Daisy, wake up." The shaking continued and his voice began rising. "Daisy!"

Gasping awake, the Inhuman sat up. The first thing she noticed was the shaking. Calming her breathing, the tremors subsided.

"You okay?" Steve asked, moving away from her.

She nodded. "Yeah. That hasn't happened in a long time," she confessed.

"With all that stress you're under, it's no wonder you lost control."

She shrugged. "I try not to think about everything. I guess talking tonight kept everything forward in my subconscious." Bringing her legs up to her chest, she wrapped her arms around them. Her head dropped to her kneecaps. She tended to keep most things to herself, including her struggles, she'd always been like that. Coulson had been the first person that she had truly opened up to. He was her 'go to guy' and even he didn't know all of what she'd confessed to Steve.

From his position, Steve watched her with new eyes. He'd known from her story that she'd been dealing with so much, but Daisy had always been resilient. The first time he'd met her, she'd been so bubbly and nonchalant that he'd had no idea she'd just lost her parents, albeit, in different ways, but lost all the same. When she explained her story, she made it sound so much better than it really was.

He'd been surprised with her candidness tonight. She'd obviously needed to talk to someone as much he had. Moving up from his bed, he made his way towards the table in the room and grabbed a bottle of water for her. "Here," he said, offering her the bottle.

Raising her head, she reached for the water and offered him a strained smile. "I was supposed to die instead of Lincoln, I was supposed to be the one in space."

"Daisy, we went through this."

She shook her head. "There was an Inhuman I came upon…before Hive. His power was the ability to see and show someone their death if he touched them. I touched him and I saw my death. I was the one in the jet."

Steve sat down on the edge of her bed.

Daisy unfolded her legs as she took a sip from the water Steve gave her. "I just…I can't reconcile it. I came to terms with my impending death, I was ready. And then Lincoln… Lincoln was…he was that one guy. The one that seemed to have everything together. He was a good mentor to me and an even better friend. It should be him here instead of me."

Reaching out, his hand fell to shin and he squeezed it. "Daisy, if Lincoln was here instead of you, I definitely wouldn't be," he whispered dramatically. He heard a little giggle and smiled softly. "Whatever your relationship, Lincoln loved you enough to save you. He thought you were worth it." He watched the tears well in her eyes. "You are. Worth it, I mean." And it was at that point when her tears spilled over. "One day, you'll see it."

* * *

Casting a look around the room, she checked to make sure she hadn't left any personal effects out. "Thank you for what you said last night," Daisy said the following morning after showers were done. She turned to face him after she finished zipping up her bag.

Stepping up to her, he tilted his head down to meet her gaze. "I meant it," he replied.

His words were soft and sincere and she felt her stomach clench.

"Do you believe me?"

Did she believe him? No. Though the words were nice to hear, she'd need to hear them a bit more to start believing it. "No," she confessed quietly. "But I want to." She leaned up and placed a kiss on his cheek. "You're a swell guy, Steve Rogers."

He felt his cheeks burn with embarrassment. Moving his gaze away from her, he cleared his throat and settled on her bag. "So, where are you heading now?"

She picked up the bag and slung it around her shoulder. "I was thinking southern California. You?"

"Hadn't really decided yet." Maybe he'd stay there a few more days?

"I left my number on the table for you. Steve, if you need anything, please call me. Event if it's just to talk…" She ordered him. She wanted him to know that if he ran into something he couldn't handle, she'd be there to back him up. "Take care of yourself, huh?

"Always. Don't be too hard on yourself, okay?" He asked in response.

Daisy nodded. "I'll see you…whenever the winds blow me your way again. Maybe one day we'll meet because we planned it?"

"Maybe."

END


End file.
